The power dissipation of integrated circuit chips, and the modules containing the chips, continues to increase in order to achieve increases in processor performance. This trend poses a cooling challenge at both module and system levels. Increased airflow rates are needed to effectively cool high-power modules, and to limit the temperature of the air that is exhausted into the computer center.
In many large server applications, processors, along with their associated electronics (e.g., memory, disk drives, power supplies, etc.), are packaged in removable node or drawer configurations stacked within an electronics (or IT) rack or frame. In other cases, the electronics may be in fixed locations within the rack or frame. Typically, the components are cooled by air moving in parallel airflow paths, usually front-to-back, impelled by one or more air-moving devices (e.g., axial or centrifugal fans). In some cases, it may be possible to handle increased power dissipation within a single node by providing greater airflow through the use of a more powerful air-moving device, or by increasing the rotational speed (i.e., RPMs) of an existing air-moving device. However, this approach may be problematic at the rack-level dependent, in part, on the inlet air temperature.